2018 High Point Motocross Results and Coverage: 7 Fast Facts

2018 High Point Motocross Results: Tomac Wins, Streak Broken

In the heat and humidity at High Point Raceway, Marvin Musquin broke Eli Tomac’s six-moto winning streak in the opening moto at Mt. Morris, Penn.

However, Tomac struck back in Moto 2, taking the moto win and overall win at the Red Bull High Point National after a titanic battle with Musquin in the final laps. Tomac continues to lead the 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Series.

A disastrous pile-up defined the first moto. It was a calamitous first corner of Moto 1, with Ken Roczen, Blake Baggett, Weston Peick, Phil Nicoletti, and a number of other riders going down after Roczen and Nicoletti tangled. The mishap allowed Tomac (who took the holeshot), Musquin, and Barcia to run away with the podium.

Eli Tomac

Moto 2 provided a memorable battle. After a two-lap three-way battle between Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki), Musquin (Red Bull KTM) and holeshotter Roczen (Team Honda HRC), Tomac and Musquin edged off on their own. Tomac held off Musquin the entire race, with the two side-by-side on the final lap. Both riders never clocked a lap time in the 2:00 range, and the pair left the entire field behind. Third place Roczen was over a minute back of the leaders, and less than two seconds ahead of fourth place Peick (Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing).

Marvin Musquin showed he can run with Eli Tomac. In Moto 1, Musquin chased down Tomac and beat him head-to-head. Musquin credited superior lines in Moto 1 for the win. Tomac improved his lines in Moto 2, and dealt well with lapped traffic, to hold off Musquin in a nail biter all the way to the finish line. Musquin was able to pull even with Tomac a couple of times, but Tomac always responded. That earned Tomac a fourth consecutive overall win to start the season.

Justin Barcia had a podium moto and overall podium, but fell for the third time in four motos. After falling in both motos at Thunder Valley, Barcia (Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing) turned in a strong third place finish in Moto 1, though he was not able to hang with Musquin and Tomac. Barcia looked like a possible double-podium finisher at High Point, but he went down on Lap 5 and allowed Peick by. Barcia’s fifth in Moto 2 with a third place in the first moto earned him 36 points in the 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Series and Barcia maintains third position in the standings.

It was an impressive 450 debut for Justin Hill. No doubt about it, it has been a terrible year for Hill on 250s. He struggled in Supercross, though he did manage an out-of-nowhere win, and he has not looked even vaguely competitive outdoors on his 250. JGR came up with a solution—put Hill on an Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450. Hill shined at Mt. Morris, coming in fourth place in Moto 1 and following it up with a sixth in Moto 2. Put them together and he has a strong fifth place overall for the High Point National. Park Hill’s 250—he doesn’t need to ride it again.

Eli Tomac

Blake Baggett made two impressive through-the-pack runs. Due to Moto 1’s first turn pileup, Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM) was 33st after the first lap. Despite the huge deficit, Baggett worked his way up to fifth place. In Moto 2, Baggett was run off the track early and found himself in 26th place after one lap. Putting his head down again, Baggett made his way to seventh place in Moto 2 and seventh overall. Unfortunately, it’s a big step down from Baggett’s 3-3 finishes at Thunder Valley.

Next week is the Tennessee National at Muddy Creek Raceway. The qualifying sessions are live on NBC Sports Gold (paid streaming subscription) at 10:10 a.m. ET on June 23. All four motos will be shown live. You can watch the first motos in both classes on MavTV and NBC Sports Gold starting at 1 p.m. ET. The second motos are shown, beginning at 3 p.m. ET, on NBCSC and NBC Sports Gold.

With 45 years of riding experience, Don Williams is a fan of all kinds of motorcycles. He enjoys sport bikes, cruisers, dirt bikes, touring bikes, adventure bikes, dual sport bikes, and rideable customs. Ask Don what his favorite bike is and he will tell you, "Whatever bike I'm on."

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